Skeletonwitch at Myspace

At my second look at a thrash revival trend I have decided to choose a blackened thrash band in the shape of Ohio’s Skeletonwitch and I have to say this is a band that makes me believe! On “Beyond the Permafrost” Skeletonwitch create 13 thrash tunes that would have been legendary if they had been let slip circa 1986. The riffs, leads and solos on here are all exemplary and the construction of the songs allows one ravaging torrent of guitar mastery to flow into another and create a headbanging fiesta where you won’t stop snapping your neck until the album is over.

Stylistically, Skeletonwitch take the most melodic elements from “In the Sign of Evil” era Sodom and early Bathory and mix them in with the bay area thrash sound and some vintage Immortal. The production by GWAR member Cory Smoot is a crucial part of this records success, with the crystal clear yet balls to the wall approach that he took amplifying this albums power tenfold. Vocalist Chance Garnett’s flexible but defiant Black Metal vocal style also helps to make this album a memorable and regular listen.

Skeletonwitch have a sound that is unmistakably their own rather than belonging to one of the 80’s greats. This is definitely one thrash revival band that can definitely hold their own with the big boys. Listen to the 2 and half minutes of “fire from the sky” and tell me you don’t have just the smallest urge to throw yourself around the room with abandon and with no sense of care. This is what thrash metal is all about my friends!

Evile at Myspace

Thrash is cool again in the sense that new thrash bands are actually getting some exposure (its not like there was ever a shortage of them) and the old stalwarts of the genre (and I don’t mean the big four!) are getting some welcome attention from younger fans. But is it all that its cracked up to be? In the case of Evile I’m afraid it doesn’t seem to be. I wanted to like this record, I really did, like a doubting Christian I want so hard to believe. To believe that thrash is alive and kicking in the 21^st century. Maybe it still is, but I’m afraid “enter the grave” by Evile isn’t the proof I was searching for.

If you want to emulate your heroes, you have to make something that’s up there with the best of them or least is a good way there. A good example of this from another genre is Reverend Bizarre who despite releasing their first record 15 years after trad doom’s heyday were still up there quality wise with Trouble, Candlemass, the Obsessed etc. The crucial difference was although the sound Reverend Bizarre created could have been theoretically come about anytime since the early 80’s, it was their own unique sound. They took influence from the Archetype (Sabbath, duh!), their aforementioned followers and a few forgotten gems to create their own unique sound.

You see, that’s what I want from a thrash revival band. I want a band that takes the influences of all those 80’s giants and creates their own unique take on thrash and Evile just don’t do this. To be blunt, this isn’t the sound of Evile it’s the slightly modified sound of Slayer. More specifically this is the sound of “Hell Awaits” slowed down a bit, more tuneful solo’s and with a greater emphasis on groove. If you love Slayer, you’ll probably like this, but to be honest for everyone else it isn’t anything that’s going to amaze or shock you. Another part of the problem is the song lengths. Unless you are Sabbat or Voivod and thus have a genius on guitar you really shouldn’t go into old school thrash if you want to make lengthy tracks. “We Who Are About to Die” is a case in point. It features the best riff on the album, but the effect of that is negated by a song that should be around 3 minutes long being dragged out to almost 8!

I’m going to casting a critical but fair eye over the thrash revival scene from now on as its reached a level of press hype (at least in the UK) that they would have been a backlash against if it were say Metalcore or Power Metal. As I say before, I want to believe in it, desperately so, but on the first look at the evidence here today I’m afraid the search might be in vain.

Arnocorps at Myspace

Arnocorps has to have one of the best concepts for a gimmick band I’ve heard in quite a while. All of their songs are about Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, although the band claims that they’re actually based on “Austrian folktales” which got ripped off by Hollywood. Their vocalist does a hilarious Arnold impression (I’m guessing that Robert Smigel’s impression from Late Night with Conan O’Brien was a strong influence). The music is thrash that leans more towards the punk side of the spectrum (crossover thrash isn’t a genre with which I have much experience), but the band dubs its music “Action-Adventure Hardcore Rock and Roll,” or “Arnocore”.

I have to admire the band’s audacity in titling their full-length debut “The Greatest Band of All Time;” while I can’t go quite that far in my praise for this album, most of the songs are quite catchy. The subject matter covers all of Schwarzenegger’s greatest movies, from Predator to Terminator to the Conan films. I would’ve liked to see some of his lesser films featured; while there is a song about the enormous flop “Last Action Hero,” I would’ve liked to see a few songs based on his comedies like “Kindergarten Cop” and “Jingle All the Way”. High points include the ridiculously catchy “Total Recall”, “Terminator,” and the semi-acoustic “Crom (Strong on His Mountain).”

Where should Arnocorps go next? My humble suggestion: a concept album about Arnold, from his role in “Hercules in New York” to him capturing the Governor’s Mansion. That would be brutal.

(Click Album Cover for Samples)

“Lay down your soul to the gods of Rock N’ Roll!” Those are the words EVERY single person remembers when hearing the title track to Venom’s sophomore release “Black Metal.” Those words have always been kind of true in terms of Venom because of them coining the now infamous term, “Black Metal.” But, when you talk about Venom you cannot help but get into the whole discussion of who started “Black Metal” whether it was Bathory, Pentagram, or even Black Sabbath (I’ve heard people use the Black Sabbath argument).

But after so many “Black Metal” bands such as Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, Emperor, Mayhem, Darkthrone, Burzum, and so on and so on, Venom as a band kind of faded away leaving the term, the image, and the attitude for the newer bands to take and make their own. Slowly, but surely, Venom had tried to stay revelant to the metal world, not the “Black Metal” world, with albums such as “Cast in Stone”, “Metal Black”, and now “Hell.” While Venom no longer really consists of the original members, Cronos being the sole leader and foundation, they have still have not let up or changed much of the ideologies that they began with.

“Hell” is very much a heavy album with very moody overtones, which at times, taps into a more “Doom Metal” emotion. At times, the album reminds me of Slayer’s “Diabolus In Musica” with the slow, droning riffs, heavy and prominent bass, and double bass drumming. The lyrics still hold true to their Ideology of doom, Armageddon, death, and anti-Christianity. In reality, very little has changed in the bands style, maybe a modernizing of playing, but this album actually fits pretty well within todays “Metal” world.